Fairy Ring and Grain

We had a busy few days on the course. Yesterday we needletined and topdressed the greens which will set them up nicely until the upcoming core aeration. 

We have some Fairy Ring on greens, which is a soil- borne disease that can cause dead circles in turf. They usually start as green rings due to the organism creating nitrogen which fertilizes the turf. Over time, in certain types of Fairy Ring, the amount of nitrogen can become toxic and kill the turf. Other types of Fairy Ring result in a ring of mushrooms, which generally are not an issue; some types create hydrophobic conditions, which result in dead turf. We have some Fairy Ring on greens, with 5 being the worst infected. We have it under control but needed to spray it again to ensure that it will not cause a long- term problem.

There are other diseases that attack the roots and cause the plants to die back. Their severity is more prevalent during prolonged hot and humid periods, like we had earlier in the summer. Thankfully the current weather pattern greatly reduces the potential for them to cause issues. Since I was spraying for the Fairy Ring, I wanted to spray the greens for the root pathogens as well. By spraying now, it reduces the pathogen populations so it will take longer for them to recover.  This helps prolong problems when the weather favors the disease again. There is a fertilizer mix that needs to be sprayed after we topdress; however, it could not be mixed with the root fungicides. As a result, we sprayed the fungicides yesterday and sprayed the fertilizer today. Sounds simple, but it actually required some planning!

Both applications needed to be watered in, which yesterday was not a problem as we were closed. Today however we needed to ensure the course was prepped, while getting the fertilizer watered in before play. The extended irrigation can washout the bunkers and leave them looking uncared for.  It took some coordination to mow, roll, spray, irrigate and then return to rake bunkers before play.  As usual, the crew really made it look simple and pulled it all off.

  

I mentioned in the 7-22 post that we had rebuilt our drag brush and the benefits for the greens has been great. Yesterday, it again stood up the turf up beautifully, meaning the mowers had a lot of grass to cut today. When this happens it usually takes an extra day of  mowing to remove all of the longer turf. The greens today are therefore a little slower than normal. The topdressing worked in well and tomorrow I expect them to be fully back up to speed provided the rain stays away.

 

The brush essentially helps remove grain. Bentgrass can be very grainy if not maintained properly; there are a number of reasons to why it occurs. It can be simply from constant traffic in the same direction over an area to it growing toward the light.  There are numerous ways to remove it. Some of them are very aggressive and can cause a lot of additional stress during the summer, so it is best to avoid these practices when the weather is not cooperating. Brooming is a simple way to stand the turf up. I have mentioned grooming in the past also and it is another great tool as it stands the grass up before the blades get it. Ideally brooming and grooming in combination would be fantastic but the stress from both is risky at this time of the year. Another reason it is not practical on this occasion is due to the fact we topdressed. The groomer would pull the sand back up out of the canopy, creating a mess and destroying the blades. Our low heights of cut helps reduce the amount of grain but it is always surprising to see how much can be there when you haven't groomed for a while. 

The picture above is from this morning. The prism gauge shows the quality and actual height of cut. The left side has just been mowed and it is easy to see how much the grass is standing up and uneven on the uncut side. That is the grain standing up and ready to be cut.

The picture below shows the the visual difference between the mowed area and the brushed area.

Early morning mowing fairways

What a difference a week makes

What a difference a week makes! Not only have the near normal temperatures been more comfortable for us humans, but the turf is really enjoying it also. The cold front stalled before completely passing through the area so it took a few extra days before the full effect of the cooler weather was experienced and before we saw rain. We ended up with 1.75" over Monday and Tuesday which the course soaked up really well. It helped the areas that had browned out start to green back up with those areas already looking a lot better. As you can see below, the rootzone temperatures are sliding in the right direction and are a  lot closer to the optimum temperature for healthy plants.

We turned off the fans on Thursday and Friday to save some fuel. While there was still not a lot of air movement around the pocketed greens, it was possible to shut them down as the humidity was low and the temperatures were not oppressive. They were back on yesterday and today to help dry the greens out a little bit more before the rain that is forecasted for today and tomorrow. The forecast looks great for needletining and topdressing on Tuesday, which will be the last time before aeration starts on August 18th. 

 

The nicer weather meant I was able to groom the greens this week  and the difference was noticeable; it cleaned up a lot the turf that was lying over, improving the putting surfaces. A couple of the collars are showing some signs of stress, mainly on the high traffic areas, such as the walk onto 2 below. We've roped a few off and will be giving them extra fertilizer to help them recover. The needletining and topdressing next week will help them also but overall they are not much of a concern, especially with aeration right around the corner.

The clubs first Parent/Child Fishing Rodeo is this afternoon. We spent some time on Friday setting up some games and preparing for it. The new Adirondack chairs are a nice addition and will be great for relaxing by 14 pond. 

We set up a horse shoe pit behind the Learning Center and painted a bocce ball court on the DR tee. So how to you set up a bocce court on a tee box? With some math, a measuring tape, string and paint. Once we had set an end, we used Pythagoras' theorem along with a tape to ensure we had right angles. After that it was just a matter of running a string line and painting - although we won't discuss the painters ability of following a straight line..... 

Did you know that we grow some of our produce and our herbs? I managed to nab some pictures of Chef Dan collecting tomatoes and herbs from our garden this week. Our horticulturist Deb has been doing a great job tending to the garden and keeping them growing healthily, while keeping the rabbits away. We hope to extend it later in the year, so next year we can supply Dan with even more fresh produce.

And lastly, another of Brandon's pictures.

The end of heat wave number 3

 

Daybreak at LedgeRock - It was a pleasure to head out on the course at 6am this morning and not instantly break into a sweat, now that the stretch of hot and very humid weather that has endured for the last few weeks has finally broken. The course has made it though the difficult period very well, with the only scars from the weather being some brown tire tracks here and there, particularly in the roughs. The bentgrass surfaces look and are playing very well. The rain stayed away for most of the period which helped reduce disease pressure a little. It also helped as the turf was not sitting in a wet envirnoment where it could potentially rot.

 

Last Tuesday the greens finally received the topdressing they have been waiting for the last few weeks. The drag brush needed new brushes and Scott (shop manager) decided it would be a good time to modify the set up so that it would be more effective. The results were fantastic! His broom design ensured that the sand was incorporated into the canopy much better than before and one pass resulted in most of it being worked in (as can be seen in the picture above.) It usually took three or more passes before for the same results, so the new design greatly reduced the stress on the plants. The new broom set-up also stood up the grass much better than the prior set-up so we were able to get a better cut, even considering the sand. 

 

For the most part we have been able to maintain green-speed over the last few weeks. The lack of heavy rain has helped, but we constantly are monitoring them to make sure that they are healthy. If it looks like they are getting stressed and rolling or mowing will be detrimental to them, we can quickly make the decision to skip one of them. Aeration is scheduled for August 18th. Once it is completed, the rootzone has lots of available air.  This coupled with the temperatures starting to drop, results in worrying less about stressing the turf too much. While we have maintained green-speed, there is some potential it still may vary a little for the next few weeks until the risk for damage is fully gone.

 

I've mentioned in numerous posts how optimum rootzone temperature for bentgrass is in the 64-75F range. The image below is LRGCs rootzone (at 2") temperature over the last week. As can be easily seen they topped out near 100F and barely dropped into the high range for optimal growth. Another interesting thing is that the greens with the fans (2 & 4 below) are noticeably cooler than the greens without fans, even at 2" depth.

 

 

We are still working on mowing the brush areas and edging bunkers; these are time consuming but the plan is to have them completed by the time aeration is completed so the property looks fantastic all fall.

 

Lastly, as promised, here is another one of Brandon's photos. 

Green Speed

Marcie's awesome, but rather ominous, picture above is a nice representation of the weather the last few weeks - is it going to rain or not? - or in this case, both at once! Thankfully this storm did not amount to much. We really lucked out over the last week as the majority of the heavy prolonged rains missed LedgeRock, which meant that the turf had an opportunity to finally dry out. However, the 1.58" yesterday has saturated the property again. 

  That rain brought another period of humid weather to an end; the upcoming forecast predicts warmer weather and for the humidity to return next week.  The spray we applied to greens last week helped reduce the amount of visible algae, so overall they now look as good as they are playing. We sprayed them again yesterday before the rain arrived so they should remain in top condition going into the next warm spell. We added another fan to 4 green to help dry the approach side. It is one of our biggest greens and that area is furthest from the existing fan; it does not see all the benefits and as such is the worst area on the course. "Worst area" is relative, as this area is doing very well with respect to how it has performed in the past; adding the fan will make it even better. We will remove it as soon as weather permits. 

The missed topdressing last week was frustrating, as I mentioned in my previous post. We were still able to needle-tine twice this week, which also helped the drying process and provide air for the roots. The needle-tine does not affect ball roll but the holes can be seen if you look closely, like the ones along the antenna in the picture below. The roller on the back of the machine smooths the surface and actually helps slightly increase speed.

The picture below, taken last weekend, is from First Assistant John Dale and shows how the algae dries out after being sprayed and deprived of water. Topdressing helps by breaking these areas up even more and providing clean soil for the bentgrass to creep into.

I mentioned in my last post about minimizing stress and prioritizing turf health during periods of high heat and humidity.

This article from the USGA Greens Section is a few years old but still applies and explains a little further why these conditions cause problems for golf courses.  We were able to maintain our green-speed through this week due to the fact that the rain missed us. However, if the humidity returns, then I will have to err on the side of caution to protect the turf which may result in a slight decrease in speed. (As this USGA Green Section article explains in more detail.)

Speaking of green-speed, over the last few weeks I've been asked a number of times about green- speed and why we do not post our speed. There is a simple answer - it rarely changes! The other reason is that it can create competition/comparison with other courses and that is not fair as many different factors affect green-speed. The Stimpmeter (which is used to measure green-speed) was designed as a tool to compare greens across a course for consistency, not to compare one course to another, which inevitably happened. Turf species, greens construction, environment/ microenvironment, design intent, green contours, management practices, and budget are a few factors that are involved in why speeds vary and why two courses should not be directly compared.

The Stimpmeter works great as a consistency tool and the greens at LedgeRock are checked daily to make sure they fall within the desired range. The process itself is simple and unscientific, which again shows how little weight should be given to "the number." A Stimpmeter is a piece of grooved aluminum with a notch set into it. The notch holds a golf ball to a certain point as the bar is raised on one end and releases the ball at the same height each time. The roll is done three times and averaged over both directions while care has to be taken to ensure the area is relatively flat. The greens and the speed at LedgeRock make this hard to accomplish at times, as the balls roll further than the available flat spots.

The tractor with the big brushcutter worked extremely well last week at getting all the large fescue areas mown. We are currently working our way through the more challenging areas, along with the woodland areas, with our Ventrac. It will take a week or more to finish them up completely; they should stay reasonably short for the rest of the year, meaning that balls will be easily located in these areas.

 The woods between 3 and one cleaned out

I mentioned in the post on the fescues that the main reason the edges are thick is due to overspray from the rough irrigation and fertilizer.  After mowing the fescues this week, it was very obvious to see along the entrance road. The bluegrass is approximately 6ft. wide, but our spreaders throw 7 to 8ft. so there is a  2ft. band of thick fescue along the edge. Over the next few weeks I plan to try and thin these out, but if that fails, they will be mowed at rough height.

As previously mentioned, this weather is very favorable for the onset of disease. The forward tee on 9 is a perfect example of what happens when an area misses a fungicide application. Both guys spraying thought the other did it; the picture below being the result a few days later. It has been sprayed and there is green turf below the brown, so it will grow out over the next few weeks; however, it shows how effective the fungicides are and how much disease pressure there has been. 

Lastly our intern Brandon Snyder has been taking some fantastic pictures with his iPhone so I'll be sharing some over the next few weeks. This is one of 14.

Happy Independence Day!!

Happy Independence Day! After an overcast morning, as I write, the sun is trying to pop out. Hopefully it finds a way to stick around and leave a nice afternoon for everyone's festivities. Saying that, the sunshine will not help with the humidity, which has been really high for the last week. This weather pattern is very hard on the turf for a number of reasons:

• Firstly, disease pressure is extremely high due to high humidity and warm temperatures (especially at night) which are two of the main components that accelerate the incidence of disease. 
• Secondly, the damp conditions favor moss and algae, to the point that they become very visible - particularly on greens, making them look aesthetically bad. 
• Thirdly, the damp rootzone causes issues - by not drying out, the roots shrink faster as they no longer need to look for water. The heat build up in the rootzone also damages the roots and in extreme situations can actually boil the roots. Using the analogy, I have used in the past - the plants are essentially sitting in a sauna and not getting a break from the relentless heat and hunidity.
• Rolling, mowing etc also adds to the stress and literally 'squeezes the life out of the plant'. 
• The optimum temperature for bentgrass growth is 64-75F (as I talked about in this post. As you can see from the graph below the night low temperatures are near or above the optimum level for root/turf growth so the plant wants to shut down to protect itself, even though we require it to keep performing as normal.

As we enter another heat wave this weekend, hopefully the sun shines, the wind picks up and the rain stays away. The humidity does help prevent the plant drying out quickly by slowing the rate of wilt. Any irrigation has to be carefully monitored so that the plant gets enough to stay alive, while not getting too much that will cause/increase any of the issues above. Unfortunately, when rain arrives, the superintendent looses control over the amount of water applied to the turf so it makes managing the turf more difficult. I had an old boss tell me "it's easier add water, than take it away" and his quote is perfect for the current weather pattern. I would much prefer to need water right now than hope that the sun comes out and the humidity breaks to dry things.

Fortunately we have tools to help get us through these difficult times. The fans help on the greens they are on, to a point, but are keeping them consistent with the others. Using needletines to aerate the greens by opening up the top few inches really helps get air to the roots and to help dry the surface out. 

We have changed the rollers on the mowers to less aggressive ones to help minimize the physical damage and the days we roll will be reduced a little to help also. While we adapt to the current conditions, slightly reduced green speeds are to be expected - it is prudent to live with slightly slower greens for a few weeks to ensure they survive the summer heat and they are perfect all fall. If they were to be maintained as normal, the potential for damage or complete turf loss increases, meaning that there is the potential for them to be either closed or severely compromised for a long period, which nobody wants! 

Topdressing is also very helpful to help dry out the surface and it also helps physically break up the algae. Unfortunately the scheduled topdressing this week had to be postponed as the weather did not cooperate so it could be done properly. This was very frustrating as we missed a topdressing in June due to the busy schedule and it has to be pushed off another week due to outings and a tournament next week. 

The greens will be fine, provided we are careful and constantly monitor them to prevent long term damage due to the current weather pattern . The good news is they were aerated (needletine)  on Tuesday and we plan to needletine them at least once again next week to help keep the surface as dry as we can. Tomorrow the greens will be sprayed for the algae and will help keep it at bay until Mother Nature lends a hand and breaks the hot damp weather. Right now there is nothing to worry about with the greens other than them not looking aesthetically perfect - they will still putt perfectly even if they are slightly slower than normal.

The guys needletining on Tuesday

A cross section of a needletine hole

Over the last week we also started to mow the fescues, brush and woodland areas. This is a major undertaking as LedgeRock has 32 acres of fescue, 18.75 acres of woodland and 15.5 acres of brush (66.25 acres total). Usually we just mow the fescues but the brush and woodlands are getting really bad also, so needed to be mowed also. To help speed up the process we rented a 15' brush cutter, which worked great and by the end of the week, the majority of the fescue and a large proportion of the brush will be cut. We should be close to having everything finished up with our Ventrac and Positrack by the end of next week. The areas will look a little rough for a week or so until the new growth starts back but after that they will remain looking good and not overgrown for the rest of the season.

The fescues had gone to seed, with the stalks remaining, so in another week or so would start falling over and not looking as good, as well as making them tougher to play from. They were not sprayed in the spring, so this also provides an opportunity for us to spray herbicide on them to keep them looking great and weed free. In some areas they are thicker close to the rough, making for a tough shot (if you can find your ball...). This is mainly due to over spray from the irrigation and over throw from when the roughs are fertilized. This is hard to avoid and the difference is clear, as the areas that do not receive extra water and fertilizer play and look very well. There is a growth regulator that is supposed to help thin these areas. It was sprayed in the spring but the fescue was probably a little too long at the time for it to have a proper effect, so now that the fescues are mowed, it will be sprayed again. If this fails to thin these areas to the required levels, they will mowed at rough height to help the playability of the course.

The current weather pattern is very frustrating as it makes it difficult to spray herbicides as they need dry weather to prevent run off and have time to enter the plant. This is also the reason there is clover in areas of the roughs, so hopefully we get a few dry days in the near future and the last of the weeds can be sprayed. 

The rental tractor and brush cutter

  

 This week we also started to hard edge the bunkers. This is another time consuming process and one that is required every two or so years. Weed-whacking takes care of them in between but eventually the turf creeps in enough to where the lip becomes untidy and no longer crisp. During the process the crew are moving sand around in the bunkers and checking depths so they will play and look great when they are done. So far, they have done 1,2 & 4 and the crew have done a great job, as the results look fantastic as seen below on 1.

That's it for this update - Enjoy your 4th of July!!